893.515/573: Telegram
The Consul General at Shanghai (Cunningham) to the Secretary of State
[Received May 26—6:43 a.m.]
255. Referring to my 254, May 24, noon. It is too early to state the far reaching effects of the failure of the American Oriental Bank and associate interests. It was the depository of a very large per cent of the American missionaries, the educational and eleemosynary [Page 588] institutions, and a substantial but smaller per cent of the small and medium salaried Americans. These are classes that must suffer severely by the suspension of business. No failure could affect such a large number of the American community as has that of the bank and the Asia Realty. American prestige in Shanghai must suffer tremendously in the failure of one of the three outstanding local American groups of interest. The knowledge that will eventually become public, that the bank is a state institution and that these are subject to very little government supervision, must increase the loss of confidence that the public has in American institutions. The present time is most inopportune since severe criticism is being directed toward the United States and the claim is being made by many that America’s silver policy is to a large extent responsible for the financial stringency in Shanghai. Competing institutions of other nationalities will not be slow to take advantage of this suspension of business. Repeated to the Legation.